Fallen Hero's Rise
by Ammie Hawk
Summary: After Harry defeats Voldemort, Harry is stripped of his magic and banished to the colonies, where he is place in the care of Zech's Marques. Adopted from SC Round Robins.
1. Chapter 1

Fallen Hero's Rise

By Ammie Hawk

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, or Harry Potter.

AN: Okay, this fic was adopted from SC Round Robins, I am doing this with the permission of the other authors who have contributed to this fic. Anyone who has read this fic... I am adding things here and there because, well, I'm probably taking it in a direction that the others probably didn't intend. This is the second fic I've adopted from there and probably the last... Anyway, let's get this moving.

Prologue

Harry sat before the Wizengamot, full court. He was briefly reminded of his fifth year, but there were distinct differences this time around. This time he was chained to the chair in the center of the room, with little to no ability to see those assembled around him, and there was no Dumbledore to save him. He had also been silenced hours ago, trying to plead his case, and he was now forced to listen as they debated what would become of him.

"He belongs in Azkaban!" someone on his left stated loudly. "He _is_ a murderer."

"He only murdered a Dark Lord," another across the room to his right countered, "why torment him? Send him to the mind-healers."

Another behind him scoffed, "They aren't nearly secure enough. He is dangerous. We can't risk him escaping."

"Azkaban isn't very secure either," someone farther left argued. "We still don't know how Black escaped. He should be given the Kiss."

"The Kiss?" A sensible voice to his immediate left said incredulously. "The public would go mad. He is a bit of a hero."

"Hero or not his power is dangerous," the first voice sounded frustrated. "He came back from the dead! That's necromancy. Darkest magic there is. Who knows if that's how he seemed to survive before? We don't need another immortal Dark Lord. Kill him and destroy his body!"

Harry flinched and shivered, this wasn't going to end well.

"We just said we can't kill him," the sensible voice sighed. "But we do need to deal with the necromancy issue."

"The problem is his power, no?" the one at the farthest left questioned. "How can we contain him if we do not understand the power he holds? We should let the Department of Mysteries test him."

"That's all well and good," the person behind him scoffed again, "but how do we keep him secure while they experiment on him?"

"If the problem is his powers," an oily voice closer behind him than the last spoke out softly, "why not take them away?"

The room fell into silence, and Harry twisted in his seat to try and see the speaker, but it was impossible. Surely they couldn't just—take his magic?

"Strip him of his magic and send him to the Colonies to be certain he never regains them," the voice sounded sickeningly persuasive. "There is no magic in space. Bind his powers so that no one else can be harmed."

"But that's... terrible," the second voice sounded shocked.

"Isn't necromancy terrible?" the owner of the first voice seemed quite pleased with the idea. "I say it sounds like an excellent idea!"

"It could set precedence."

"Tie the punishment to the necromancy charge," the sensible one said slowly. "It's not like any sane person will touch that art."

"Could be dangerous," the one on his far right spoke up again. "Who would perform the ceremony?"

"Not I!" almost the entire room chorused.

"Of course it doesn't have to be one of us," the scoffer snarled. "Get an Unspeakable to do it."

"Yes," the far left one agreed. "The Unspeakables could do it. Bind his powers!"

Several cries broke out at this proclamation, almost drowning each other out in their verocity.

"Banish him!"

"Strip him of his magic before he hurts an innocent!"

"Prevent another Dark Lord!"

"Shall we call a vote?" the oily voice spoke up again when the din had finally settled.

Harry trembled, begging uselessly as the court called his punishment to vote, _'No, no, no. Please not my magic. Please, no. I'll be good!'_ His throat was raw, but no sound came out as tears streaked down his face. The vote was cast and Harry slumped as they passed it, almost unanimously, his voice still working uselessly, _'No, no, no, please. Take it back! Please no! Please!'_

8888888

The Unspeakable looked over the teenager on the table. Harry Potter had been brought to him, drugged into unconsciousness, his eyes still puffy and red. The Aurors who brought him in had handed the Chief a simple slip of paper, and they were left with an unconscious boy and orders that made the two man team tremble.

"We really have to bind his magic?" Unspeakable F489 clenched his fists in anger. "He's a hero. Not to mention he's still a child."

"I know," his Chief answered, "but we have our orders and we have sworn our oaths to this Ministry. There is nothing we can do but try and make this as easy on him as we can."

"How?"

"His mind and body are both tied to his magic," the older man sighed. "We can ease the transition so that they will not be damaged in the process. We can smooth it out so that this does not break him. We can give him a chance to live."

"It's not much, is it?" the junior Unspeakable sighed. "I hate this job sometimes."

The Chief nodded in silent agreement, "Let's get started."

They stripped the teen of his clothing and prepared the table with the supplies they would need before closing themselves in a salt circle and setting a ward. Tediously they began etching runes on the pale skin with black paste. Occasionally F489 paused to consult with the Chief about a particular rune combination, slowly altering the spell. Twice they had to erase entire sections because of an error, cleansing the area carefully before rewriting the runes. They worked together, weaving the hundreds of tiny symbols into a pattern for the rite they had prepared.

Twelve hours after they had begun, the teen started to stir. The Unspeakables finished the last of the runes quickly, so they could reach the next step by the time the boy fully woke. The Chief spoke a simple purification charm, and the teen woke with a small gasp.

"Please, do not move child. We are at a delicate stage right now, one wrong move could kill both you and us," the Chief spoke his warning before the other could do more than blink. "I am sorry, but you must be awake for this part. Any outside influence of spells, potions, or even Muggle drugs could alter the spell and do damage. Please do not make noise or move until I say, I do not wish you any harm."

F489 watched as those green eyes blinked back tears and the teen lay still on the table. Then he began to chant, lifting his wand and beginning the intricate motions necessary for the ritual. He heard the Chief take up his portion of the spell before he focused his entire concentration on the ritual and the boy before him.

Slowly, each string of runes began to light up, glowing softly against the pale flesh. He felt the strain on his magic as he neared the end of his task and forced his hand to remain steady as his lines finished. He listened to the Chief finish his lines and then there was a very pregnant pause. F489 took a long look at the Savior of the Wizarding World, wrapped in runes glowing like Christmas lights, before speaking in tandem with the Chief, "So mote it be."

The teen gasped at the same instant the runes stopped glowing, before he bit his lip harshly and his skin broke out in a cold sweat. The Chief looked puzzled for a moment at the lack of further reaction, then his eyes went wide.

"It's alright Little One, the danger has now passed."

As if by magic, Harry began screaming, wrapping his arms around himself and sobbing his heart out. His entire body shook as he gasped for breath.

"Please, no. Give it back! Please! No, no, no! Oh God! It's so empty! Please!"

The Chief climbed on the table and lifted the teen, placing a blanket around his thin shoulders as he whispered reassurances. F489 stepped closer, offering his own words of comfort to the child who had been so betrayed.

8888888

Harry looked in the mirror, studying himself. His raven hair was still soaked from the shower he had just taken, but he let it drip rather then dry it. His green eyes still looked red and puffy, but they were now glasses free, apparently, a side effect of the binding. His throat was circled in a collar like chain of black runes, a permanent reminder tattooed on his very skin. His right wrist was circled in a similar chain, but these were a dark wine red. His left wrist had a set of forest green ones. Circling his waist was a thinner band of runes that started at his belly button, wrapped once around him and ended just shy of the hair at his groin. He flushed pink at the thought of the Unspeakables painting that particular band on his body.

None of the other runes remained, which was a small relief. He'd scrubbed a black substance from his face, arms, chest, and legs. If all the runes had left a mark, he'd be a walking freak show. He shook his head and wrapped the towel around his waist before heading back out to the main room.

"Ah, Mr. Potter," the elder of the two Unspeakables greeted him kindly. "Feeling any better?"

"I feel empty," Harry wrapped his arms around his bare chest as his voice broke.

"I am so sorry, child," the Unspeakable led him to a small office and handed him a paper bag with his name on it. "Get dressed, and I'll explain."

Harry opened the bag and found the clothes he was wearing when the Aurors had picked him up. A pair of blue cotton pajamas. He blinked at the bag for a moment before slowly pulling them out and slipping into them. He then crushed the paper and threw it away, fighting nausea as his emotions raged. A knock at the door startled him out of his thoughts, and he left the room.

"Now, I am certain you are more than aware of your sentence, but I want to go over the details with you. First, your magic has been bound," he paused as Harry made a small choking noise. "Your magic was bound, but not taken. You cannot actively use magic, but we did what we could to allow you to handle magic internally. Magic speeds healing, as I'm sure you've experienced before, and so I am sure that will be one way your magic aids you. Your eyesight is an example of this. With no other outlet, I'm sure your magic will aid you internally as best it can. Your magic cannot be used externally, as I already stated. That is, you will not be able to cast spells or use magic against others or even in defense."

He paused again to squeeze the teen's shoulder. "The other half of your punishment is banishment. Now, this is where you got truly lucky. The court agreed to give you over to the Preventers, a Muggle law enforcement agency, and have you sent into space in their custody. The lucky part in all of this is that they left the length and location of your exile up to the Preventers. With a bit of good behavior, they may allow you to return to Earth in the future.

"Keep your chin up, Little One. It is horrible what we have done to you, I know. But try and make a new start. Live like a normal teen for a while. You deserve it. You'll still have access to your Gringotts account. If I were you, I'd owl them before you leave for space. They deal with Muggleborns so they have outlets in the Muggle world. You can get a debit card that will do the exchanges. Try not to let this ruin your life."

"But it already has," Harry's voice was soft and helpless. "I don't have anything left. I don't know anything but this world. Being a wizard was the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Oh, child," the Unspeakable swept him into an embrace, ignoring the protest of adulthood.

8888888

Lady Anne Une stared down at the folder in front of her, a frown marring her already stern countenance. What were these people thinking? Where they really stupid enough to turn their backs on their hero? A child hero at that? Oh, for the love of all things gundanium, this was worse than the colonies during the war, they at least realized their mistake in the end.

She closed the file in front of her and leaned back in her chair, thinking. So, the Wizarding world wanted to bind Harry Potter's magic, did they? And send him into space? Well, she wasn't really in a position to argue.

What would their reasons be for sending the boy away, though? They were already taking away what, to any decent wizard, was considered their very life. He'd be exiled in any Wizarding community, seen as worse than a squib. That's why most squibs, like herself, moved away from the Wizarding world and chose to live as Muggles. She thought they were actually doing him a favor by sending him away.

So, what did Earth have that the colonies didn't? That was the only thing she could even imagine being behind their reasoning. Hmm, well, the colonies didn't have the excess ambient magic that the Sphere did, being artificial they didn't support magic as well. That had to be it. It was the only thing she could think of.

Then it hit her. Those stupid, idiotic, bigoted bastards thought that they were better than anyone else. They saw space as a dead zone for magic. They were trying to break the boy even more than they already had. But as usual, they were so narrow minded that they didn't even know what they were dealing with.

Just because magic wasn't as abundant in space as it was on the Sphere didn't mean it wasn't there. She knew for a fact that it was, having spent substantial amounts of time there. Just because she couldn't wield magic didn't mean she couldn't feel when it was present.

Okay then, what to do with the information she now had at her disposal. The Wizarding world wanted their savior gone and off their hands. So they had handed him over to her to dispose of, most likely so their hands weren't soiled with his death.

She tapped her fingers together as a maniacal grin spread across her face. Oh, she was more than willing to take the boy off their hands. In fact, she was even willing to send him up into space. But who said anything about her having to send him one of the Lagrange point colonies? No, she'd send him to one of her best, no, not hers, Treize's best officer, to be trained.

She would send the boy to Zechs Merquise. He wouldn't be able to deny her request, not if she played her cards right. And with Harry Potter on Mars, who knows? Just because the Red Planet didn't have the same ambient magic that Earth did, didn't mean it didn't have any.

She didn't know what kind of binding they used on the Boy-Who-Lived, but she did know that they feared keeping him on the Sphere. If there was a chance the binding could break, she'd put him in a place where he could do something with it if it did. And if it didn't break, she'd still have another potential agent at her disposal, one who knew of both worlds.

The smile on her face turned just a fraction of a bit more devious. Oh yes, she could use this to her advantage. Welcome, Harry Potter, to your new life.

* * *

><p>Ammie: Okay, so there it is, the first chapter. Originally written by Dragonzanfire and yours truly. Hope ya'll enjoy and let me know what you think.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Fallen Hero's Rise

By Ammie Hawk

Disclaimer: Don't own

AN: Okay so this chapter is pretty much straight from the former RR, just mismatched. Original authors Dragonzanfire and Knoteach. Anyway, hope you enjoy.

Chapter 1

Zechs Merquise watched as the people exited the shuttle. Lady Une had called him only hours before, giving him little choice but to accept a new charge. He sighed as the crowd thinned and the last of the group trickled out. He was beginning to think he had the wrong shuttle when a lone boy stepped out.

His first impression was of Heero Yuy, his wayward lover. The teen had messy black hair, was short and held himself with a contained precision. Green eyes scanned the terminal, noting each person and potential exit points. Zechs smiled and gestured when those eyes fell on him. He watched the teen shiver before gathering a duffle and approaching.

As the teen drew closer, he noted several significant differences between the boy and Yuy. Other than the obvious coloring and ethnicity, the former Wing pilot had never been so thin, he'd been broad shouldered and muscular. Heero had also never had tattoos, and he'd certainly never looked so young surely.

"Agent Wind?" a polite, British voice questioned quietly.

"Please, call me Zechs. I only work for the Preventers on a contract basis. You are Harry Potter?"

"Yes, sir," dark green eyes studied him intensely for a moment. "You have no idea. I was just dumped on you."

"That is how it turned out, isn't it?" a small smile crossed the aristocratic features. "Why don't you tell me what I have no idea about while we fetch your other bags?"

"This is it," he gestured to the carry-on bag, and motioned for the blond to lead the way. "I am… was… a hero. The savior of the w-world. England at least," here he paused, he'd meant to tell them about magic, but he couldn't. "I stopped a terrorist group from genocide, except I stopped them by killing their leader. I don't really know what happened. One minute they are celebrating, the next they are pulling me out of bed and calling me a murderer. I was given a very speedy trial then… then I was exiled. Stripped of-of everything and sent to the Preventers' headquarters. I am here now, and you're my keeper until they are certain I am not going to—I don't know—start attacking people in the streets, or something," green eyes flashed with anger for a moment before fading back to grief.

"Hmm, well, fair is fair. I was called all of eight hours ago and informed that you were arriving," the teen gasped quietly at this pronouncement. "Yes, I know, that shuttle ride is several days long. Between you and me, Lady Une has control issues," the smile morphed into a smirk, but Harry only blinked in shock. "I will be your guardian for the next year, until you turn eighteen, and then I will be your probation officer until I have determined you do not need to be supervised any longer. That could be anywhere from one year to one hundred. I have not had a chance to see your full profile yet, but I would like to sit and discuss it when I do."

Harry nodded absently and Zechs held open the door to his jeep. He gazed out at the dusty red landscape that was the planet Mars, and sighed.

"Are you okay?" Zechs asked concerned.

"I-I am trying very hard not to be mad," Harry flushed slightly. "I don't know what to think about all of this. It hurts, but I don't want to be mad."

"Why not?" a blond brow rose in slight disbelief. "From what you say, you would be very justified in your anger."

"Maybe, but it wouldn't help anything, would it? I would just be angry all the time, and who would I get mad at, you? You weren't the one who did this. If I got angry it wouldn't go anywhere. Then, eventually, I'd be bitter, and then maybe I could become Dark-start lashing out at people. I don't want to be like that. I just…I don't know how I'm supposed to feel. I just—" Harry shook his head and suddenly looked up at him, seeming to notice his presence for the first time. The teen abruptly closed off, his face going blank and his body stiff, as he turned back towards the window.

Zechs bit back a response, knowing it wasn't the time, and settled in for the drive home. 'I'm going to kill Une if that report isn't in my box when I get home.'

When they finally arrived, Harry entered the apartment cautiously. He wasn't certain what to expect from the blond who had picked him up from the shuttleport. The Preventer had reminded him briefly of the Malfoys with his platinum blond hair and aristocratic looks, but Harry had quickly realized that looks were all they had in common. Zechs had a sense of fair play and honesty.

The flat wasn't like any home he'd seen before. It looked almost… militaristic, yeah, that was the best word for it. Even the Dursleys, with their obsession with perfection, and their neat and sterile house didn't have the same _functional_ feel to it. It certainly didn't match the cozy comfort of the Burrow.

He studied the layout, noting the openness. The front part of the apartment was all one big room that included the kitchen, dining, and living room. The dining room table and the coffee table matched, a utilitarian square, grey piece with four sturdy legs and a solid build. The chairs around the table were a set, a metal and leather combination that looked more practical than comfortable.

The sofa and the two living room chairs looked a bit more comfortable, black, in some easy to wash fabric that resembled leather but wasn't.

The kitchen was done in chrome and black marble, spotless and neatly organized. There was an island separating the kitchen from the dining and living rooms, angled at an almost perfect forty-five degrees. Metal stools lined one side of the island. The floor was wood or laminate and all one piece with no edges between the sections.

Next to the door was a metal shoe rack and coat hook. There was a painting of the stars on one wall and a sturdy metal vase sitting on the coffee table with blue silk flowers that he imagined were supposed to be personal touches, but the whole place screamed military.

"Welcome home."

Seeing the politely blank expression on his new… ward? What was the boy really?... the boy's face, Zechs glanced around the apartment, mentally cringing at the stark functionality of the place. He'd never been particularly fond of military starkness either, but with the project only getting underway six months ago, they took what they could get.

"A bit sparse, I know," Zechs shrugged mentally when the boy just glanced up through his fringe of unruly bangs, but said nothing. He led the boy farther into the apartment, "This will be your room," he said opening a door. "We had been using it for storage, so there will be a few boxes in here until we can figure out where else to put them."

Harry looked around the room, trying not to shudder at the similarities he was seeing between this place and Number Four Privet Drive. The room was small, with only a simple twin bed, a dresser, and a desk with a chair. Boxes had been stacked in the corner, out of the way, but it was still obvious this room had been intended for storage only and then equipped for someone to live in. Still, while the furniture was simple, it looked new, not half fallen apart like the things he had lived with on Privet Drive. All in all, it was a step up, not a big one, but progress nonetheless.

The former Savior looked up at the now silent blond, only to find him staring at him expectantly.

"It… looks nice," he said finally.

Zechs gave him a confused sideways look, but led him off to show him the rest of the apartment.

Pointing to the right, the former OZ general said, "There's the bathroom. There's only one in the apartment so we're all going to have to work around each other. The master bedroom is on the end over there. You are not allowed to go into our bedroom without permission, except in the case of emergency. I expect you to respect our privacy," he said seriously.

"Yes, sir," Harry said immediately, his posture straightening a little in an almost instinctive reaction to the tone in Zechs' voice. "But sir," he hesitated slightly, but continued on, "you talk as if there's another person living here, but I haven't seen anyone else."

"Ah, yes," the blond nodded. "My spouse is off planet at the moment, he should be back within a few days and I'll make introductions then."

Harry nodded and Zechs headed off toward the kitchen, saying that he would get some lunch. Emerald eyes blinked as he watched him walk off. For half a second, Zechs had reminded him of Professor Snape. Not physically, obviously, but the tone of his voice and the air of command that had momentarily surrounded him. As Harry continued over to the sofa and sat down, his mind wandered back to those he had been forced to leave behind.

In the last year, he had seen and done many things he hated and, in so doing, had come to understand the dour black haired man. They would never be what could be called friends, but they had come to respect each other greatly. He would miss Snape, odd as it might sound.

There were many others he'd miss, but perhaps the one he would miss the most was Remus. Harry dropped his head and tightly closed his eyes as he felt his eyes start to burn. Remus had been the only thing to keep him sane after Sirius died, writing to him even against Dumbledore's orders, telling him stories about when they were at Hogwarts. Remus had been injured in the last battle, and while Harry knew he had survived, he had been forbidden from seeing him until he was released from St. Mungo's. Remus hadn't even been allowed to leave the hospital when Harry had been arrested. And now he would never see him again.

Struggling to control his emotions, Harry pulled his legs up and buried his face in his knees, wrapping his arms around his knees.

Zechs entered the living room to find his young charge sitting on the couch with his head buried in his knees and shoulders shaking as he suppressed his sobs. Sighing silently, he walked around the furniture to sit beside the shaking figure. Carefully, he rested a warm hand on the boy's back, only to have him shy away violently.

"Shhh, it'll be all right, it's just me," the blond said softly as he tried again, and when the teen didn't pull away again, he started rubbing comforting circles on the boy's back.

After a few more minutes of watching the boy silently sob, the former OZ lieutenant shook his head and gathered him into his arms, trying to comfort the tormented young man.

He didn't know much about the boy, apart from his name, but he didn't look more than fifteen. The same age as Heero and Relena had been when they had been forced into the war, and while they frequently didn't see eye to eye, Zechs loved his little sister.

There was also a… frailty… about the boy, as if a strong wind would cause him to shatter. As if he had been pushed to the limits of his strength, then someone had decided to push him farther.

Pulling the unresisting boy against his chest, Zechs tucked his head beneath his chin and started rocking just slightly, as he remembered his late father doing for him when he was scared or hurt. It had been a long time ago, but he remembered how it had helped. There might only be a few years difference in their ages, but the blond knew that at this moment, Harry needed someone to hold him together.

* * *

><p>Ammie: Okay, now as I said, this is almost straight from the previous RR, I just tweaked it a bit. Anyway, let me know what you think.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Fallen Hero's Rise

By Ammie Hawk

Disclaimer: So not mine…

AN: So here's the 10th day of Christmas chapter… would've been up yesterday, but I wasn't home… Anyway, I hope ya'll like the new version, I combined like four chapters of the original for this one. Enjoy.

Chapter 2: Tall Tales

Wufei Chang dropped the last box containing his worldly possessions on the floor of his new apartment, if you could call it that. It was a small square room with a bed along one wall; a refrigerator, sink, and stove adorning the opposite side; a dingy, tinted window took up the one containing the door from the outside; and two more doors were set into the other, one for a small closet, and the other a sorry excuse for a bathroom, about the same size as the closet. Why was he moving to this run down shit hole on Mars again? Oh, yes, his superior, Lady Une, had given him a new assignment on the Red Planet. He, the great Wufei Chang, Preventer Agent Dragon, last of the great Dragon Clan of L5, and former pilot of the Gundam Shenlong, was reduced to a terraforming project under Preventer Agent Wind, otherwise known as Zechs Merquise, Milliardo Peacecraft, or the Lightning Count.

"Well, that's everything," Duo Maxwell, his friend and fellow former Gundam pilot, clapped his hands together as he surveyed the room. "Do you want to start in the bedroom," he indicated where the bed was, "while I start in the kitchen? Or do you want to check in with ole Zechsy first?"

"I don't have to check in for the next twenty four hours," the Chinese teen frowned slightly. "However, I don't want to get too caught up in the unpacking and forget the deadline."

"Great!" the braided teen beamed, slinging his arm over Wufei's shoulders. "We can pick up something to eat on the way back. I'm starving!"

"Do you ever think of anything but your stomach, Maxwell?" dark eyes rolled in slight annoyance, but he knew better than to try and shrug his over energetic friend off his person.

"Sure I do," he chuckled. "I also think about sex. And Heero. And, of course, sex with Heero. Course, Zechs would probably kill me if he ever found out about that. How bout we just keep that between ourselves? Then again, I wouldn't mind screwing you into the mattress either, or the other way round, whichever you prefer."

"Maxwell!" the Preventer agent growled, moving rapidly away from his braided friend.

Duo's merry laughter accompanied them out the door and all the way to the Preventer's office, almost a block and a half away.

As they walked, the former Deathscythe pilot couldn't suppress the shudder that wracked his frame, and it had nothing to do with the dark glare sent his way by Wufei. He always hated coming to Mars. The very air seemed charged with a wild, chaotic, untapped well of power, like it was just waiting for some poor sucker to step out and become consumed by it.

The Chinese Agent noticed his friend's unease, but decided to ignore it at present. If Maxwell wanted him to know, he'd say something.

When they reached the small building that was the Mars' Preventer base, the two former terrorists went inside without a thought. They made their way to the unmanned front desk and Duo proceeded to ring a small bell stationed there.

Not a moment later, they heard a female voice calling from a back room, "I'll be right out!"

They waited another minute before the woman in question made her appearance. All three smiled as they recognized one another. The dark haired woman hastened around the desk and embraced both boys like two long lost brothers.

"Wufei, Duo," she beamed. "I didn't know you were coming."

"Lady Une said she's been in contact," the former Shenlong pilot frowned.

"Oh," she pursed her lips in thought. "That's probably what that message was about this morning. Zechs took it, not me."

"Anyway," the braided teen shook his head, "how've ya been, Noin? We've missed ya. It's strange not seeing ya at Relena's side anymore."

"I've been good," Noin smiled. "Why don't I take you over to see Zechs? I'm sure he knows what's going on better than I do."

"Great idea!" Duo beamed. "It's been awhile since we've seen ole Zechsy-Poo anyway."

"We wouldn't want to intrude," Wufei sent a stern glare at his companion.

"It's no trouble, really," the former OZ lieutenant waved them off. "I'm sure he's expecting you. Anyway, I was just about to close up for the day. I'll drop you two off on my way to my apartment."

The two pilots waited outside the front door while Noin locked up the building. She then led them to her jeep and they made their way to the other side of the small community. When they reached the small house that belonged to the once Lightning Count, they all piled out and went to the front door.

"Zechs!" the dark haired woman knocked once before pushing the door open. "You'll never guess who I found skulking around the Preventer building. Oh," she spotted the blond, who was sitting on the couch with a small, quietly sobbing teen cradled against his chest. "I… I didn't realize you had company."

The boy sat up so quickly it was all the blond could do to pull his head back in time to avoid a collision. Wide emerald eyes darted around at the three newcomers before quickly averting to the floor.

"Hi," she smiled at the boy. "I'm Lucrezia Noin, I work with Zechs. And you are?"

"Harry," he said quietly in introduction, not looking anyone in the eye. "I think I'm gonna go to my room now. I'm sorry, sir."

With that being said, he pushed to his feet and was about to bolt when a surprised gasp stopped him in his tracks. If he'd still been on Earth he would've chalked it up to someone recognizing him for the thrice cursed scar on his forehead, but who the hell would recognize him in outer space, much less on the farthest inhabitable point at this moment in time.

"Wait!" a distinctly American voice stopped him in his tracks. "You're Harry Potter, aren't you?"

Ever so slowly, the raven haired teen turned to the braided boy. Wary emerald eyes rose and locked with curious amethyst.

"How do you know me?" he asked quietly.

"Dude, you're a legend," Duo bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet. "I spent almost a year on the Sphere and my only regret was not getting to meet you. What are you doing on Mars? I figured you'd be celebrating the downfall of ole Moldy Shorts, with your two sidekicks, whatever their names are."

"Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger," the bound wizard supplied with a frown.

"Yeah, them," the former Deathscythe pilot waved his hand, as if he didn't really care.

"Maxwell, what are you talking about?" Zechs rubbed the bridge of his nose in agitation. "Harry is my new ward, courtesy of Lady Une."

"What?" the braided teen looked between the blond and the raven in confusion. "What do you mean, your ward? He's legal, and even if he's not in 'polite' society, his birthday's in a couple months and he'll be eighteen, what's he need a guardian for?"

"Maxwell," Wufei turned his attention away from the skittish new teen, who was still studying his companion warily, "how is it that you know so much about this boy? He hasn't even been properly introduced."

"Oh, sorry Wuffers, forgot about you for a second there," he pulled a face at the Chinese teen. "Harry Potter meet Wufei Chang. Fei-Fei, Harry Potter." He then leaned over and stage whispered to the younger teen. "Feel free to call him whatever you want. The crazier or more girly, the better."

"It's a pleasure, Wufei," Harry nodded before once again looking at the excitable teen in front of him. "And you are?"

"Oh shit," he laughed. "I'm Duo, Duo Maxwell. I may run and hide, but I never tell a lie. That's me in a nutshell. So did you come to Mars for an easier time of things? I mean, not that you had a problem on the Sphere, from what I've heard."

"What are you talking about, Maxwell?" the former Shenlong pilot growled.

"I'd like to know too," Harry frowned slightly.

"What?" Duo looked incredulously at the former Savior of the Wizarding World. "Don't tell me you can't feel it. I can hardly stand to be on this planet cause of the wild, raging magic, that's like ten times the amount that's on the Sphere."

"Wha—?" the green eyed wizard stared.

"Magic?" Wufei, Zechs, and Noin all said in tandem.

"What are you trying to pull, Maxwell?" the Chinese teen demanded, scowling at his fellow pilot.

Amethyst orbs narrowed as he glared back at his black haired compatriot, "Its true, Chang. Remember who you're talking to here."

Wufei swallowed his instinctive scoffing, knowing that Duo would not react well to being called a liar, "But, that's just…" Confusion might not have shown on his face, but to those that new the normally stoic Chinese youth, it was clear in his voice. Glancing toward the older couple, he found them looking just as bewildered as he felt.

Zechs, seeing that the former Deathscythe pilot was serious, turned to his new houseguest and asked, "What does he mean by magic?"

Harry remained silent, but everyone in the room could see the young man shudder and wrap his arms around his torso. All of the assembled Preventers grew concerned and the boy seemed to try and fade away in front of their eyes.

Duo frowned internally at Harry's reaction, "Hey, Kiddo, if you're worried bout the Statute thingy, I'm pretty sure they're cleared and 'sides, it's not like they can tell anyone, or for that matter that anyone can stop ya."

The former boy savior looked up at him, but remained silent, a single tear trailing down his face before he quickly wiped it away. The braided teen's eyes widened as Harry's sleeve slid down, revealing the band of runes circling his wrist. Striding forward quickly, he grabbed the wizard's wrists, one after the other, and pushed the long sleeves up. He had only seen those kind of rune bands once before, but they were quite unforgettable. Amethyst orbs closed in pain and anger as he pulled the frightened, but compliant, teenager into his arms.

Leaning down, he whispered very quietly, "They bound your magic, didn't they?"

The sudden stiffness in Harry's form was all the answer he needed.

"Harry's had a rough time recently," he turned to the others. "I'm just gonna take him to bed. We'll talk in a bit."

Without waiting for an answer, Duo turned and started guiding the shocked young man toward the room he had been given earlier. The Boy-Who-Lived glanced up at the strange young man that apparently knew what the rune bands were for, yet did not condemn him. And from what he'd said earlier, he appeared to be a wizard, and kept up to date with the recent happenings in the world. Though, he only seemed to know the basics, not the specifics. He was torn between what this braided teen would tell the others and what his new 'guardian' was going to think about all this.

The former Deathscythe pilot pushed open the door to Harry's room, without even asking which it was, and gave the room a cursory glance. It was nothing fancy, but serviceable nonetheless. He gently pushed the exhausted teen down on the bed, and pulled the blankets over him.

"You get some sleep. I'll explain as much as I can to them, and we'll figure out what else to do later." Seeing the fear still lurking in the back of those expressive emerald eyes, Duo smiled a little, "Don't worry, Zechs is an alright guy, once he got his head on straight, and Wuffer, well, he may seem like he's got a stick shoved so far up his ass it'd puncture that enormous brain of his, but both of 'em are good guys. They'll understand."

"What about the lady? Noin?" Harry bit his lip.

"Eh, you don't have to worry bout her," the smile grew a bit more. "She'll do whatever Zechs does, even go so far as to cross the galaxy for him. Now, go ta sleep."

The wizard looked up at him for a few minutes, but the softness of the bed and the warmth of the blankets combined with his exhaustion to quickly pull him into the arms of Morpheus.

Duo returned to the living room to find Zechs, Noin, and Wufei lined up on the sofa waiting for his return. Dropping heavily into the unoccupied chair in front of them, he dropped his head into his hands.

"Maxwell," Wufei couldn't take the uncomfortable silence anymore, "what in the name of all hell is going on here!"

Duo sighed heavily as he looked up at his friends, "It's pretty complicated, but I'll do what I can to dumb it down for ya. Easiest way ta explain it is that magic is a type of free ranging energy, created and maintained by nature. No one's really sure what exactly it is, just that it is. Now, certain people, witches and wizards, are born with the ability to use and manipulate this energy to a certain degree."

Wufei snorted in disbelief at the seemingly fairytale names, causing amethyst eyes to narrow dangerously.

"So you are a… wizard?" Noin asked curiously.

The braided teen nodded, "My powers are kinda odd, compared ta others, what with being a colony brat an' all. Ya see, in the colonies, since they're not natural environments, the magic there isn't as easily accessible as it is in the Sphere. It makes it harder to wield in space, and it shows up in different ways too, like Quat and his space heart. Empathy on the Sphere, in and of itself, is rare. Now, colony brats, like me, if they can use magic have an easier and harder time of it on the Sphere."

"Why would it be easier, yet harder?" the former Shenlong pilot asked, confused.

"Well," Duo chuckled slightly, "since there's so little magic in space, going to the Sphere, where there's more, makes gettin' it easier, but its harder ta control cause when you're used to drawing in for a certain amount of time, ya get used to it and it becomes habit, so with more available it tends ta pack too much of a punch or go nuts. Mars is actually got about ten times more wild magic than the Sphere so it's even more dangerous here."

"How many… wizards are there?" Zechs looked bewildered. "And why have we never heard anything about this before?"

The self proclaimed Shinigami smirked, but his friends could see the pain and distain in it, "The magical world keeps itself hidden from everyone else. Most witches an' wizards think they're better than everyone else, especially those in space and with no magic. Now, they've had this war going on for a long ass time. Harry in there finally ended it bout a week ago. But sixteen years ago, the leader of the evil forces murdered his parents and tried ta kill him too. He somehow survived, with that funky scar on his forehead. The bad guy, Moldy Shorts… Voldemort, and his followers have been after him since, and the rest of the Wizarding world has been expecting him to beat that guy since he was a baby."

Ice blue eyes narrowed at Duo's short explanation. Based of what he said, these wizards and witches sounded like a bunch of pathetic men and women. They had been waiting, expecting, Harry to defeat this madman since he was a _baby_, for crying out loud. Did that mean he was a weapon? Had he been trained since before he could walk in order to defeat this bad guy? Why was he, surely the hero to whatever this place was called—the magic world—all the way out here on Mars? Why wasn't he within this hidden society?

"Why would anyone e expecting a _kid_ to defeat the 'leader of the evil forces' if this war had been going on since before he was born?" asked Noin, a look of pure loathing on her face.

"I honestly couldn't tell you," Duo shrugged, shaking his head, his three foot braid following the movement.

Dark gray eyes narrowed into a glare at the answer she received. That didn't help at all. What she really wanted to know was why a bunch of full grown adults would depend on a kid to fight and end a war for them. Her eyes drifted over to the former Shenlong pilot before moving back to Duo. Maybe she already knew the answer to that one.

"If he was supposed to be this hero," Wufei scowled darkly. "Why is he here."

"Those fucking bastards bound his magic," the braided pilot snarled. "Probably banished him too. Zechs, did you happen ta see that ring of funky characters round his wrists and neck?"

"Yes," the blond looked confused, "I just thought they were odd tattoos."

"They're not," Duo shook his head. "Those bands are runes, old ass writing, made to cage magic. Witches and Wizards sometimes use 'em for rituals and the like to get better results."

The Chinese teen looked confused, "What does that have to do with binding his magic?"

"I've only seen that combination once before, and it was used to bind his magic," Shinigami sighed and rubbed his temples. "From what I gather, this ritual pulls the genes from his DNA that allows him to manipulate magic and traps it within himself. They can't actually take it away, they'd kill him."

"Why on Earth would someone want to do that?" Noin asked, scandalized. "He's just a child."

A shuffling noise from the hall alerted them to Harry's presence just before he spoke, "They thought I was dangerous."

"Dangerous how?" Wufei asked suspiciously. "I thought you were supposed to be their savior."

"And I was," the raven haired wizard shrugged, "I just killed Voldemort too well for their tastes."

"What do you—?"

"Leave it, Fei," Duo hissed.

"No, it needs to be said," the Boy-Who-Lived-To-Be-Banished shook his head. "Voldemort did some very dark magic to make himself practically immortal. He literally split his soul into seven pieces and placed it into different objects. When he died, the other pieces anchored him to the Earth until he found a new body. I spent practically the entire last year tracking down the last pieces only to find out, in the middle of a battle, that I was one myself."

"One what?" the blond interrupted.

"A horcrux, the object that contained his soul," Harry took a deep breath and closed his eyes, now that he started he just couldn't stop. "The night he attacked my parents and tried to kill me, he split his soul planning to make another one. He hid the other pieces in inanimate objects, except me and there was one in a snake. He never planned to make me one, but when his spell backfired, his loose bit of soul attached to me.

"Thankfully," he shook his head, "he called me out, just after I found out. I went to face him, needing to destroy the horcrux in me so he could die. Well, I let him kill me. I _died_. Most of the people at the battle thought I just survived the curse again and played possum, but I went into, for lack of a better term, Limbo. I was offered the choice, not sure why that was, but I chose to come back." His voice hitched, "I… I fought. I won. And I thought it was finally over.

"Three days after that, I was pulled out of bed in the middle of the night," tears filled his eyes. "I fought, thinking I was being attacked, before I recognized the Auror robes. They called it resisting arrest. But they dragged me to a Ministry holding cell and set a dementor guard. Next thing I know I'm on trial, and charged with necromancy, like I intentionally planned to come back from the dead."

"That's horrible," Duo's mouth fell open in shock.

"It gets worse," the wizard gave an almost hysterical chuckle. "I only told my closest friends how I did it. And when they came to get me, my wards didn't go off and they hadn't fallen either. Someone gave those Aurors the password. And now I'm just so empty."

"Hey, kid," Duo cut in as Wufei opened his mouth, "we'll figure out what happened, you have my word on it. But right now, you should go back to bed. You've done more than enough for now. Want something ta drink before ya go?"

"I—I'm fine," Harry allowed the other boy to lead him out of the room once more.

"I'm not trying ta just shuffle ya off, ya know," the braided pilot sighed. "If you'd like ta go back, that's entirely up to you. I just figured you'd like to avoid all the questions."

"Thanks," Harry sighed and curled up on the bed.

Original chapters by yours truly, Knoteach, Sticker_bell, and Dragonzanfire

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><p>Ammie: Once again, I apologize for the delay, planned to get this out for day 8 but things just didn't work out. Anyway, let me know what ya'll think, and I'll see ya next time.<p> 


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